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Friday, 11 January 2008

Preview of Friday's CIS Action

** NEW EDITS MADE/ARTICLES ADDED THIS MORNING (see also below in game previews) **

As usual, Howard Tsumura is on top of the top issues in Canada West. Today he helps break down the possible candidate programs that 6'6" Jacob Doerksen is considering for next season after leaving Victoria suddendly late this summer It's anyone's guess

Marc Weber of the Vancouver Province discusses a key vote by the NCAA at their meetings this week that could start the wheels in motion for international membership in the NCAA Canadian Universities watching NCAA voting

QSSF8 PM UQAM (1-8, 0-5) at McGill (10-7, 4-2) The cross-town Montreal rivals meet at the Love Gymnasium. The Redmen defeated the Citadins by 5 when the teams played on the final weekend of the first half at UQAM. Expect a game in the high 80's or low 90's between these two tempo-pushing sides.

OUA EAST8 PM #1 Carleton (16-0, 10-0) at #7 Toronto (17-5, 8-2) A sell-out crowd is already virtually guaranteed in the loud confines of the U of T gym for the feature game of the night in the OUA. These teams played a pair of terrific matches last season as the Ravens came from 18 down early in the second half to edge the Blues at home and then again edged Toronto in Toronto as 6'4" Ryan Bell hit a late 3 with about 2 minutes left to give Carleton the lead for good. Look for the Blues to mix their defenses up and offensively look to space the floor and attack off quick ball reversals from the post while the Ravens will make Toronto make shots from the perimeter and find the mismatches offensively. This game features two of the top coaches in Canada in Toronto's Mike Katz and Carleton's Dave Smart in an exciting setting. A great game for those in Southern Ontario to attend live.

8 PM #4 Ottawa (15-4, 9-1) at Ryerson (4-6, 5-14) This game features two of the top players in the OUA in 6'7" Boris Bakovic (CIS leading 27.0 ppg) and 6'4" Josh Gibson-Bascombe (19.8 ppg). Bakovic has proven to be difficult check for anyone with his array of moves in and around the paint and he is proving to be arguably the best offensive player in the country. He lit up the Gee-Gees for 38 points in Ottawa last season. The Rams have been beat up a little as 6'11" Igor Bakovic missed last Saturday's game against Queen's and sophomore point guard 6'1" Ryan McNeilly has not played since before Christmas. The Gee-Gees hope to have 6'3" starting wing Donnie Gibson back.

CANADA WEST8 PM PT/11 PM ET #10 Brandon (16-5, 11-1) at #2 UBC (13-2, 11-2) By far the top matchup tonight in Canada West pits two Top 10 teams in a rematch of last season's Canada West championship game in Brandon, in which UBC handled the eventual national-finalists Bobcats on their home floor. The T-Birds come off a thrilling come-from-behind win at Simon Fraser on Tuesday while the Cats had a pair of impressive wins at home last weekend. 6'3" Chris Dyck expects to bounce back from a sub-par effort against the Clan and should matchup well with 6'3" Dany Charlery, Brandon's tough wing. 5'11" sophomore point guard Alex Murphy and 6'2" Yul Michel, a fifth-year veteran, will likely guard each other at the point. Both teams have strong inside play with the difference potentially being depth and UBC showed their bench can steal them a game on Tuesday as 6'4" Blaine Labranche and 6'6" Kyle Watson were instrumental in the win against Simon Fraser. Dan Stinson of the Vancouver Sun previews tonight's game, highlighting the resurgence after injury of Blaine Labranche. Labranche missed most of the first half with injury and interestingly spent his first season of eligibility in Brandon on the Bobcats roster. You can also follow the game via LIVE STATS! plus UBC webcast

8 PM PT/11 PM ET UCFV (6-11, 5-9) at Trinity Western (5-9, 5-9) In a battle for positioning for the fourth and final playoff spot in the Pacific, two former college rivals battle in Langley. This will be a significant night for former UCFV coach Pat Lee, who will face his old program as interim Head Coach of the Spartans for the first time since being relieved off his duties in Abbotsford after last season. Again, Howard Tsumura is on the case with an article Former Fraser Valley bench boss faces old team tonightSPARTAN LIVE WEB RADIO

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I enjoy Canadian University basketball and with this blog hope to contribute to sharing as much as information about CIS basketball as possible. Please share your comments and suggestions, positive or otherwise, by emailing marek.wacyk@sympatico.ca I also advise others on their financial well-being with RBC Dominion Securities as an Investment Advisor www.markwacyk.com